Abstract

PARRA-OROBIO, Brayan Alexis; CALDERON VALLEJO, Luisa Fernanda  and  MONTENEGRO-GOMEZ, Sandra Patricia. Analysis of the Blue Water Footprint as an Indicator of Sustainability in SMEs in Valle del Cauca. A Case Study in the Production Sector of Plastic Containers and Phenolic Foams. Cienc. Ing. Neogranad. [online]. 2023, vol.33, n.1, pp.13-28.  Epub June 30, 2023. ISSN 0124-8170.  https://doi.org/10.18359/rcin.6195.

The blue water footprint (BWF) is an indicator of freshwater consumption that represents not only the volume of water used and contaminated but also the spatial location and the time of the year it is used. The determination of indicators such as the water footprint in a specific sector, such as the country's productive and industrial sector, can provide a context on the management of water resources in that sector, which contributes to decision-making by the actors involved, and allows the consolidation of a vision of water resource sustainability. This research evaluated the HHazul in SMEs of the plastic packaging and phenolic foam production sectors located in southwestern Colombia, taking into account that the selected SMEs met the established conditions and decided to participate voluntarily in the study, in addition to the fact that they had the necessary information for the quantification of the index. It was identified that the calculation of the HHazul in the SMEs contributes to the knowledge of the quantification of the water footprint of the country, particularly in Valle del Cauca; also, it was identified that the phenolic foams sector has a higher consumption of water resources than the production of plastic containers.

Keywords : virtual water; phenol; plastic; micro-enterprises; sustainability indicators.

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